Tulsa State Fair

We (my daughter Amanda and her two daughters) arrived at the Fair good and early. We found a close (free!!!) parking spot and set off in search of Dexter Cattle, which were slated to be judged at 10 am. We found their stalls without much trouble. The entry was small but high in quality. As the judging was running late on the Longhorns, we wandered around, looking at several other Breeds - I was particularly taken with the Santa Gertrudis and the Gelbveigh (sp??). These are large, meaty cattle that are bred to grow out fast. We also took the opportunity to watch some of the Dairy Breeds being judged. Some of those udders almost made my eyes pop out!! I would hate to have to hand milk them - I am betting on eight to ten gallons!

After the Dexter judging was over we went to the Petting Zoo area where the girls had a wonderful time petting the goats, sheep, Highland Cattle, Zebu, and many other animals. I have to confess to enjoying that myself...

Directly behind the petting animals were the poultry exhibits. I am very fond of poultry so we spend a short while walking between the cages. There were several breeds of chicken I did not recognise and some of the bantams were too pretty for words. I would not keep bantams because every animal here has to contribute something edible, and those bantams don't have enough meat on them to keep a mouse alive, LOL, and I would bet their eggs are minuscule, too. Interesting for fancy hors d'oevres but not for breakfast... There were a few geese there. I didn't realise how huge the Toulouse and Embdens are. When I told Ken about them he about drooled. I am betting that geese are on our next poultry order. He really likes goose. It is not one of my favorite meats - I find it rather greasy, but then again, I have never had a home raised one either. I am willing to try anything once.

It was getting to leaving time - Amanda has weekend guests, and I had critters to feed when I got home. I would have liked to spend more time there, and would have loved to return to watch the sheep and swine judging, but alas other things need to be done here at home for that to be possible. The girls wanted to take a photo of themselves so we waited around just long enough for that, then home it was. All in all it was a very enjoyable break from the usual workaday routine.